


A Sinner on the Right

by Pippin



Series: Make It a Good One [4]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Coming Out, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-05-12
Packaged: 2018-06-08 00:07:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6830902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pippin/pseuds/Pippin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"We're both hiding our sexual orientation from parents who are trying to set us up.  How better to achieve that than letting them think that they've succeeded?  C'mon, Jack, be my fake boyfriend.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Sinner on the Right

**Author's Note:**

> This is Eyesverse, but you don't have to have read anything else in the series to understand this. It takes place before Eyes.
> 
> Warnings for homophobia, internalized homophobia, and a homophobic slur.

“No matter what Congress may have decided, I still firmly stand by the view that marriage is meant to be between one man and one woman.  The liberals are trying to convince the country that homosexuality is perfectly fine, that those who follow that abhorrent lifestyle are allowed to have the same rights as the rest of us, those of us who are _normal_.”

The crowd cheered and Henry Laurens waved and beamed from where he was standing on the podium.

As his father continued using his status as senator to preach to the crowd, Jack tried to blend into the background.  It was bad enough that he wasn’t white—his father never let him (or Martha) forget that; that was one reason why the two of them were always the ones on the receiving end of Henry Laurens’ anger and never their younger siblings—but now his father was going off on one of his homophobic rants, not knowing the irony in his anger.

His son was gay.  Jack tried to not be, he really did, since he didn’t need to give his father another reason to hate or hurt him, but he couldn’t help it.  His father pushed pretty girls at him and he lusted over their brothers.  God, he was such a failure.

Martha glanced over at Jack.  She didn't know that he was gay, but she could tell that he was extremely uncomfortable up on that podium, behind their father spouting hate-filled rhetoric.  Their younger siblings didn't understand yet, but both the older ones knew that there was more in life than just the hate that surrounded them at home.

God, Jack couldn't wait to go to college.  He had a year of high school left, one more year to suffer through, and then he could escape.  Get away to a place where his father's words couldn't follow him, where he could maybe even come to terms with his sexual orientation.

After what felt like ages more (but was probably only about twenty minutes) Henry was finally done.  Shaking hands was tedious, but at least Jack didn't have to listen to outdated political opinions, for the most part.

There was dinner afterwards with a few chosen donors.  Jack was seated next to a blonde girl, on purpose, he was sure.  She was about his age and, objectively, very pretty.  She was friendly, too, although that may have just been Southern manners.

“Martha Manning,” she said, holding out her hand (damn, how many Marthas did Jack know?)

“Jack Laurens,” Jack replied.  “In case you didn't already know.  But I think everyone here knows me, which puts me at a slight disadvantage.”

Damn, he had said too much.

Luckily, Martha laughed.  “I understand.  My father's in the state legislature, so I understand.  It must be even worse, though, having your father be in D.C. so often.”

Jack shrugged before he could catch himself.  Luckily, there was an easy enough way to remedy the situation.  After all, he was a high schooler, so certain behaviors were expected of him. “Gives me more freedom, which is nice.”

Martha nodded.  “I understand that.  My parents are so overbearing, to the point where they pretty much choose who I'm going to date.  Actually, I'm pretty sure that they're trying to set me up with you.”

Jack nodded.  “Knowing my dad, I wouldn't be surprised.”

Martha looked down.  “Do you share your dad's views?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, the homosexuality and stuff.  Because I disagree vehemently.”

Jack let out a sigh of relief.  “Oh, thank god.  I'm not the only one here who thinks that all people should have basic human rights.”

“Can you keep a secret?”

“I'm in the business of keeping secrets,” Jack replied.  “With my father the way he is and all...”

Martha giggled.  “Understood.  Well, I'm gay.”

“Can _you_ keep a secret?”

Martha arched an eyebrow.

“I'm gay, too.”

Martha grabbed Jack's hands, looking excited.  “That's perfect.  We're both hiding our sexual orientation from parents who are trying to set us up.  How better to achieve that than letting them think that they've succeeded?  C'mon, Jack, be my fake boyfriend.”

* * *

Convincing everyone that he and Martha were dating was surprisingly easy.  They got along like a house on fire, instantly best friends.  It helped that they were in almost exactly the same situation, given that they were both gay and hiding it from homophobic families by dating one another.

Their relationship was close enough to fool most people.  Henry Laurens, however, wasn't having it.

“You and Martha never show any physical affection.  Is there a problem?”

Jack shook his head.  “We're just not big on PDA, you know?  Our relationship is for us, not for everyone else.”

“That's not true, Jack.  The media is eating up your relationship, especially given the prominence of her family.  A little more PDA, as you put it, is only going to help both the Mannings and myself.”

Bitter, all Jack could do was nod.

* * *

“We have to act more affectionate in public,” Jack told Martha.  “My father's not giving me a choice.  Basically, he and your father are using our relationship for voter approval.  I'm a little shocked, honestly.  I thought that it would have the racists up in arms, a nice white girl dating someone who looks like me.”

Martha pecked Jack's cheek.  “Hey, don't demean yourself like that.  You're beautiful, and sooner or later you're going to find a nice boy who sees that, not to mention everything else amazing about you.  As for your father's demands, it shouldn't be that bad.  Holding hands, maybe a few kisses.  Just to pacify our families and keep them from suspecting anything.”

“How are we going to maintain the facade once summer ends, though?  It's a two-hour drive between Columbia and Charleston.  I mean, that's not _that_ far, but it's not hanging out after school, either.”

“I keep forgetting that you're actually from Charleston,” Martha said sadly. 

“Yeah, we have a place outside the city and one of those ridiculous houses on Rainbow Row.  I mean, I really do love the city, but still.”

Martha laughed, laying her head on Jack's shoulder.  “I haven't been to Charleston in years.  I'll come visit you.”

“And I'll see if I can talk my dad into letting the two of us stay in the Rainbow Row house.  Given all the factors, I bet he'd say yes.”

“It's a plan.”

* * *

It was the middle of October until Martha made it down to Charleston.  As Jack had predicted, Henry had given him the keys to the house as soon as he had laid out the plans.  As much as he was a hardass about everything else, he not only was okay with the thought of his son being alone with his ‘girlfriend’ for an entire long weekend, he assisted in it becoming a reality.

* * *

Showing Martha Charleston was fun.  They spent an entire day in the city, exploring the historical areas. 

“Some guy from the Revolution was from around here,” Jack said as they lay in Battery Park.  “Okay, I imagine that more than that one guy were from this area, but this guy was big.  I can't remember his name off the top of my head, but he was an aid to the general and tried to make an all-black regiment.  Except he was killed, so that sucks.”

Martha had her head on Jack's chest, partially for appearances and partially because their relationship, for all it was actually strictly platonic, had a casual touch component.  “He sounds like a good guy.  Pushing the accepted limits.”

“Yeah.  Everything I want to do.”

“Speaking of, how’s the college search going?  Have you chosen a major and where you want to go?”

“I think so.  I’m pretty sure I want to major in poli-sci, which is a little ironic, given what my dad does, but I don’t want to follow in his footsteps.  I want to advocate for civil rights, might go to law school.  I can do that with a poli-sci degree.  As for where I want to go, I haven’t decided yet.  All the schools I’m looking at are up north, though—I need to get out of the South.”

Martha nodded.  “My dad really wants me to stay in state.  I’m trying to talk him out of it, but I don’t think it’s going to work.  He doesn’t want his little girl to go too far away.  As for major, I’m thinking about going into education, but I’m not sure.”

“You’d be a great teacher.”

“Hey, thanks.”

* * *

Jack had been doing so well not getting into fights so far that year.  It was almost April and he hadn’t punched anyone since August.  There was so much that he wanted to fight but couldn't; his father would have his head.

His breaking point came, however, when he walked into a classroom to grab a book he had forgotten and instead found three boys beating up another, smaller, boy.

“What the hell is going on?” Jack asked, fists clenched at his sides.

“This one's a _fag_ ,” one of the boys snarled, shaking their victim.

Jack snapped, punching the bastard in the face.  “You don't get to talk about people like that.  Sexual orientation isn't a choice, and even if it was it's not something to beat someone up over.  So what if he likes boys?  It's none of your business.  Or are you scared he just would never like you?”

Jack knew that he had fucked up, but he was past the point of caring.

“Get out of here,” he told the poor boy who had been the victim and he fled.  Jack turned to face the others.  “It's none of your _fucking_ business who someone likes, and you shouldn't be beating any up over it.  Do I make myself clear?”

“I would have thought that you would join in, given your daddy's stances and all.  Isn't he on our side, after all?”

“I'm not my father,” Jack snapped back.  “And you should have shown him mercy—he wasn't fighting back; y'all could've killed him.  After all, mercy is the mark of a great man.”

The three boys surrounded him and Jack sighed.  He should have known that they weren't about to be talked down.  No worries, he could handle this.  This was hardly his first fight.

* * *

Once the fight was broken up, Jack made a break for it—he wanted to find the kid they had been beating up.  He recognized him, although he didn't know his name.

“Hey, you all right?”

The boy jumped, turning to look at Jack with fear in his eyes.

“Hey, I'm not going to hurt you.  I just want to make sure that they didn’t hurt you too bad.”

“I'm fine,” the boy muttered, staring at his feet.

Jack wasn't convinced, but he dropped the issue.  It was clear that the boy didn't want to talk to him.

* * *

Trying to hide his black eye and busted lip was going to be completely futile, so Jack didn't even bother.  He knew that his father would have his head, but he was ready to deal with it (or as ready as he was going to be, at least).

As Jack had suspected, he was called into his father's study after dinner.

“You cannot be getting into fights, Jack,” Henry said sternly, leaning across his desk to glare at his son.  “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“They were beating this guy up for being gay.  Everyone deserves rights and no one should be beat up for something like that, something that they can't help.”

Henry shook his head.  “I can't believe that you would defend someone like that.”

“What do you mean, _someone like that_?”

“A _homosexual_.”  Henry practically sneered the word.

Jack’s mouth moved faster than his brain.  “You mean someone like me?”

_Shit.  Fucking hell, he was so dead.  He couldn’t have said that.  Fuck fuck fuck._

“Jack?”

There was no taking back what he had said, so Jack plowed ahead.

“I’m gay.”

Henry stared at his son, frozen in shock for the time being.  Jack knew that the brief grace period wasn’t going to last.

His worse fears were confirmed when Henry told Martha to take her little siblings out for ice cream—that only happened when Jack or Martha was in a shit ton of trouble and Henry didn’t want the younger kids to hear their father yelling at their older brother or sister.

“What the hell do you mean, you’re gay?”

“It’s not that hard to understand,” Jack replied.  “I like guys.”

“No son of mine is going to be gay,” Henry snapped back, voice raised.

Jack cut in, more courageous in dealing with his father than he had ever been before.  “Before you do anything, remember that I have power here, too.  Only think what I could do to your presidential bid in a few years.  A U.S. Senator and presidential candidate with a history of child abuse?  And if you throw me out, that will only add credence to my accusations.”

Jack knew that he was taking a huge risk, but it was a calculated risk.  His father wasn’t going to risk his entire political future just because he hated the idea of his son being gay.

“I…go to your room.  I will deal with this later.”

Jack fled the study, trying to hide the smile on his face.

**To: Martha M**

_Came out to my dad by accident.  Could have gone worse.  Almost got kicked out.  Used his own career against him._

**From: Martha M**

_Proud of you.  Real quick, though—you didn’t out me, too, did you?_

**To: Martha M**

_Never._

Jack laid back in his bed, staring at the ceiling and smiling.  It hadn’t been the best possible situation, but, as he had told Martha, it could have gone worse, too.  And now he didn’t have to lie to his father—or himself.

* * *

Jack wasn’t sad to see South Carolina disappear in his rearview mirror.  He was moving into college—up north, thankfully—entirely on his own.  His father had some work thing to do (more likely, he still wasn’t ready to be associated with his gay son) and his siblings couldn’t go because they would have no way to return home.  His car was packed, and on the front seat next to him was a box that Martha had handed him before pecking him on the cheek.

“Open it when you get there.  And keep in touch.”

When Jack finally pulled onto campus hours later, the first thing he did (besides sign in and get his keys) was open the box Martha had given him. 

He pulled out a gay pride flag with a note taped to it.

_Always proud of you.  Be your own man.  Love you, Martha._

Jack smiled at it.  He could be his own man.  He was free, for the most part, from his father.  He didn’t have to have any connections to his father while he was at school.

Flag in hand, he found his dorm room.  His roommate was already moved in and looked up when Jack entered.

“Aaron Burr,” he said, offering Jack his hand.

Jack shifted his flag to the other hand and shook Aaron’s.  “Nice to meet you.  I’m—”  He glanced at the flag in his hand.  _Be your own man._ It was time to shake off the stranglehold his father had always had on his life.

“I’m John Laurens.  It’s nice to meet you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, reference to actual historical John Laurens.
> 
> It was kind of hard to write Henry Laurens, especially his speech in the beginning. Everything in me was screaming against writing out that homophobic bullshit.
> 
> Battery Park and Rainbow Row in Charleston are both places that I have been--they're gorgeous. Look them up.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed--let me know! As always, my tumblr is smallinsaneone.


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